Saturday 16th Nov was the annual Forth Naturalist and Historian Conference. This year, with the focus on wildlife, it drew the biggest audience for several years. But the focus was also on change, particularly over the last 40 years or so, since the journal Forth Naturalist and Historian, began to appear. And, in that sense, all the papers were historical. I found it fascinating to see detailed examples of how human activities impact in such different ways on a wide variety of taxa and species.
The event also saw the launch of Volume 36 of Forth Naturalist and Historian which includes a paper I have intended to write for years on Stirling's early-modern gardeners and their gardens.
It starts by discussing what gardens (very valuable assets in the 17th and 18th centuries) can reveal about the development of the town plan. But most of the paper is devoted to the produce - fruit and vegetables, salads, herbs and such important incidentals as honey and wax from bees; and there were also flowers so that, though most gardens were utilitarian, there was also an element of delight.
Perhaps surprisingly, many of the best-documented gardens were commercial enterprises run by 'market gardeners' who probably managed several gardens at the same time.
Of course, the journal includes many other papers, including Digney and Jones on the recent survey work at the King's Knot. the history of botanical discoveries at Ben Lawers and an interesting item on prehistoric pottery found in the King's Park earlier this year; there are also some intriguing looking wildlife papers.
It usually takes a week or two for copies of the journal (£10) to be distributed to the University bookshop and the Smith Museum. For details see the website; http://www.fnh.stir.ac.uk/journal/index.php
The event also saw the launch of Volume 36 of Forth Naturalist and Historian which includes a paper I have intended to write for years on Stirling's early-modern gardeners and their gardens.
It starts by discussing what gardens (very valuable assets in the 17th and 18th centuries) can reveal about the development of the town plan. But most of the paper is devoted to the produce - fruit and vegetables, salads, herbs and such important incidentals as honey and wax from bees; and there were also flowers so that, though most gardens were utilitarian, there was also an element of delight.
Perhaps surprisingly, many of the best-documented gardens were commercial enterprises run by 'market gardeners' who probably managed several gardens at the same time.
Of course, the journal includes many other papers, including Digney and Jones on the recent survey work at the King's Knot. the history of botanical discoveries at Ben Lawers and an interesting item on prehistoric pottery found in the King's Park earlier this year; there are also some intriguing looking wildlife papers.
It usually takes a week or two for copies of the journal (£10) to be distributed to the University bookshop and the Smith Museum. For details see the website; http://www.fnh.stir.ac.uk/journal/index.php
Gravestone of John Simpson, gardener, one of those discussed in the paper.
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